New York- News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch has admitted management shortcomings impacted STAR TV’s business in India and contributed to a decline in STAR’s operating profit after four years of growth. “I’ll put my hand up for the blame. We took our eye off management there a bit and got into some trouble in India,” Murdoch said. “It has all been sorted out. Peter Chernin has been out there, and there’s a lot of work going on. So we will see… we have some very interesting and good hires and we have great confidence in it.” STAR’s March quarter saw operating profit decline by 34% year-on-year to US$19 million. Media Partners Asia identified other issues which affected the company as content costs; competition from rivals such as Zee; disruptions in the ratings measures being used in India; and a lack of investment in new programming. These are being resolved with a number of initiatives including a US$30-35 million investment with Balaji Telefilms to launch regional-language general entertainment channels.